


that's how strong my love is

by drfitzmonster



Series: supercorp song fics [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Song Lyrics, Wound Tending, blood tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 03:32:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10324676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drfitzmonster/pseuds/drfitzmonster
Summary: Lena manages to injure herself one night while drowning her sorrows alone in her office. Luckily, Kara is on patrol and comes to her rescue. She tends Lena's wound and tries to comfort her with a song.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is messy and unbetaed, but I've been having so many feelings about Lena Luthor lately that it was interfering with my ability to write anything else. So here it is.

_A Luthor doesn't cry_.

That's what Lena repeated to herself as she sat in her office, looking at the ceiling, willing the tears welling up in her eyes not to fall. No matter how many times she said those words in her mind, still the tears came. She gave up the ghost and let herself cry freely, weeping quietly with her cheek pressed against the cool glass surface of her desk.

She always felt like a monumental failure whenever she cried, even if no one ever saw, even if there was no Luthor name left to live up to because she was the last one and so none of it mattered anyway. She’d been lonely all her life, but now, after what her mother had done— tricking her into believing she really did love her, using her as a pawn, almost killing her— she felt more utterly and miserably alone than she had in her whole life.

No one ever loved her, not even Lex, and especially not her mother, who never for a moment let Lena forget that she was not a true Luthor, that she was unwanted, broken, and unlovable, and that no matter how hard she tried, she would never belong.

She was right, though, wasn’t she? Lena never fit in anywhere, even now. The company had been thrust upon her, and anyone even approaching a peer only tolerated her because dealing with L-Corp was strategically advantageous. They all just wanted to use her, to take from her. No one ever cared about Lena.

No one, except Kara, that is. She was her hero, her superhero. (Lena knew. Of course she knew. She’d spent way too much time surreptitiously studying her face not to know.) Kara had unending faith in her, believed she was good, that she was more than just her name. She actually cared, and the only thing she wanted from Lena was her friendship.

Kara gave her hope that someone could actually love her, and that maybe, just maybe, she deserved to be loved. Unfortunately for Lena, a little hope could be a dangerous thing.

She picked up the scotch she'd been nursing all evening and brought it to her personal bar for a top off, swaying a bit as she walked. She was several drinks in already, and not quite in control of her movement. This was not really an issue until she slammed her glass a bit too hard on the bartop and it shattered, cutting her hand.

“Fuck,” she spat out. She sank to the floor, holding her hand out, watching the blood pool in her palm. She began to sob, not caring as the blood dripped onto her expensive trousers.

She heard it then, the telltale thud, followed by the whoosh of her balcony door sliding open. It was Supergirl. Her heart filled with dread. Kara was the last person she wanted to see her crying and pathetic like this. She wanted her only friend to retain a modicum of respect for her.

“Ms. Luthor?” She took several cautious steps into her office. “Are you ok?”

“Why are you here?” Lena called out, miserably, from the floor.

“I was on patrol, and I noticed your light still on. I just wanted to— you’re hurt.” She rushed over, placing a reassuring hand on Lena’s shoulder, and the other beneath her injured hand. “I’m going to take you to the couch, ok?”

Before Lena could protest, Kara scooped her up and carried her to her couch, placing her down gently. She sped off in a blur, and just as quickly returned with a first-aid kit. She sat next to her, so close their legs were touching. That scarce bit of contact was almost too much for Lena, and she let out a stuttering breath to try and calm herself.

“Can I see your hand? Please?” Kara asked softly, tapping Lena’s clenched fist.

She looked up into Kara’s face, fearing judgment or derision, but she saw nothing but earnest concern, and something else, something that frightened her in its intensity. She slowly uncurled her fingers, watching in horror as blood spilled out of her palm and all over Kara’s skirt.

“Oh, god, I’m so sorry.” She tried to yank her hand away, but Kara just held her wrist gently.

“It’s ok,” she tutted. “You’re not the first person to bleed on my suit. Trust me.”

Something about Kara’s tone sent a bolt of pain right to Lena’s heart. She wasn’t special. She’d been fooling herself. Supergirl _rescued_ people. That was her job. Lena was no different from any other citizen off the street. Whatever she thought she felt between them, it was all in her mind.

What she felt between them kept her up at night, haunted her dreams. It filled her head with thoughts of the night she was thrown off her own balcony, and she knew she was going to die, until she was suddenly saved, enveloped in Kara’s warmth.

She hated to admit it, hated herself for her weakness, but she’d never felt more safe or loved than in the moment Kara caught her, when she whispered, “I’ve got you,” and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

She almost wished to be thrown off a building again, if it meant even the slightest chance of being in Kara’s arms. At her lowest point she’d even thought about jumping. She shivered against the thought.

Through her dissociative fog, Lena vaguely felt Kara cleaning her wound, applying something cold and numbing, then the sharp sting of disinfectant, followed by gentle pressure.

“There you go, all patched up!” Kara said cheerfully.

Lena looked down at her hand, startled to find it wrapped in gauze and tape. “Oh. How did you… I mean, so quickly…”

“Just some basic Girl Scout training,” she smiled sweetly, “and maybe a little superspeed.”

Of course sweet and perfect Kara Danvers was a Girl Scout. Lena began to sob, pulling her hand back, drawing back into herself.

“What’s wrong?” She reached out to touch Lena but pulled away when she flinched. “Why are you crying?”

“Because I love you, Kara!” she angled her body away from her, drawing her knees up to her chest, hiding her face away, trying to muffle her sobbing.

“Ms. Luthor, I—”

She lifted her head. “Please call me Lena,” she begged, tears thick in her throat. “I know you’ll never love me. Who could?” She laughed bitterly. “But please, no more lies.”

Kara opened her mouth to speak, but Lena was staring straight ahead, paying her no attention, so she stopped and waited for her to finish.

“I know you are too good for someone like me. You are... light personified, and I, well,” she gestured dismissively at herself, “I am the last Luthor. Once I’m gone the world will be safe from us, safe from the scourge—”

“Stop.” Kara turned, taking the other woman’s face gently in her hands. She brought their foreheads together, breathing into the space between their lips. “Lena, please. You are strong, and brave, and good. You’ve saved so many lives, including mine. You are a hero. You’re _my_ hero.”

She began to kiss Lena’s face, slowly and reverently, from her forehead down to her tear-stained cheeks, jaw, chin, and finally her lips, upon which she placed a single chaste kiss before pulling back to look into Lena’s eyes.

“Beyond all of that,” Kara said, wiping away Lena’s tears with her thumbs, “I love you, too.”

Lena was stunned. She didn’t understand what was happening. She must be dreaming. She must have passed out from the booze because this could not be real.

“Lena…” Kara took her uninjured hand gently, bringing it to her mouth so she could kiss her fingertips. “I love you.”

Something broke open inside of Lena when she heard those words, and all the pent up emotions she’d been feeling spilled out: all the fear, the heartache, the longing. She was completely overwhelmed and the only thing she could do was lurch forward and capture Kara’s lips with her own.

Lena kissed her greedily, clutching at her with trembling fingers, even against the sting of pain from the cut on her palm. Kara let her take what she needed, following her lead, holding her in a tight embrace. Lena was so overcome with want her whole body shook. She finally broke the kiss, crying and burying her face in Kara’s shoulder, still clinging desperately to her.

“It’s ok…” Kara stroked Lena’s hair gently. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Lena continued to sob, face hidden.

Kara shifted their bodies, reclining and pulling Lena on top of her so she was curled against her chest. She pulled her cape around them, cocooning them in her warmth. Lena’s sobs still came steadily. As Kara rubbed Lena’s back in slow circles she began to sing softly, punctuating each line with a kiss on the top of her head.

“ _If I was the sun way up there, I'd go with love most everywhere_.”

Kara placed a gentle kiss into Lena’s hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.

“ _I'll be the moon when the sun goes down, just to let you know that I'm still around_.”

Another kiss as she began to rock her back and forth gently.

“ _I'll be the weeping willow drowning in my tears, and you can go swimming when you're here_.”

She felt Lena begin to relax into her embrace.

“ _And I'll be the rainbow after the tears are gone, wrap you in my colors and keep you warm_.”

Her heaving sobs finally stopped.

“ _I'll be the ocean so deep and wide, and catch the tears whenever you cry._ ”

She loosened her grip on Kara’s suit.

“ _I'll be the breeze after the storm is gone, to dry your eyes and love you warm_.”

Lena lifted her head and gave Kara a gentle, searching kiss. She smiled weakly before laying her head against Kara’s chest and threading her fingers into her hair, sighing contentedly as Kara hummed softly to her. Sleep began to take her, and the last thing she heard before she drifted off was Kara’s soothing voice.

“ _That’s how strong my love is, baby, that’s how strong my love is._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> This was honestly half self-indulgent catharsis and half thinly-veiled excuse for me to use Otis Redding lyrics in a story.
> 
> I hope you liked it.
> 
> Find me on tumblr if you feel so inclined.


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